Special ‘Supernatural’ Anime Project to Debut in January

"Supernatural's" Sam and Dean Winchester have battled monsters, demons and angels across America and on both sides of the afterlife, but this January the boys are headed to Japan...sort of.

A screen showcasing "Supernatural: The Animation" popped up on the home page of Warner Bros.' official Japanese Web site earlier this week, which according to Anime News Network promises original animated content that audiences have never seen before. It may be too early to call the project an "anime," given that the project may or may not be produced by a Japanese studio, but the anime-style depictions of Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) Winchester seem to lean in that direction.So far peripheral stories, such as Wildstorm's three 6-issue miniseries, have served as in-continuity (if offscreen) expansions of the show's mythos, meaning the animated project could be considered canon in some capacity as well.

The apocalypse-battling Winchester brothers are set to star in the sixth season of the "Supernatural" CW television series this fall. There's no word if the animated project will be released as a component of the regular season or a kind of standalone feature come January, but hopefully its American release won't lag far behind its unveiling overseas.